When Lippert was born, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy or CP, a condition that made walking difficult. It wasn't until age seven, when Lippert was adopted, that he started making strides.

"To do that, I had to do leg surgery, and they gave me two casts. Most people just need braces to straighten it. Mine were so bad, they had to give me the paper ones where they wrap it."

After the casts, doctors advised Lippert to wear braces. It was a commitment he says he had to make for years.

"It's something that if you don't do it, you're going to be down. But if you do it, look at me now. I'm playing football."

Lippert is now an outside linebacker for the Proctor Junior High Team with braces only in the soles of his shoes.

"I don't usually bring it up because I don't want people to feel bad for me. I'm happy with me."

Lippert says he doesn't spend much time looking back on the obstacles he's had to overcome. Instead, he looks forward to hopefully one day playing for Proctor's varsity team.

"Yeah, that's probably one of my biggest dreams, playing on Proctor varsity. It doesn't matter how I get there, I'm going to.

It's an attitude that Lippert's coach, Brandon Morin, has taken note of.

"Just seeing how hard he works at everything he does, that's probably one of the neatest things about it," Morin said. "He sticks his mind to doing it, and he works hard at what he wants to get accomplished."

Working hard to make tackles and inspire his teammates.

"I think it shows them determination to not give up. My team is probably like I want to be like him because he never gave up."